ENVIRONMENT advocates urged the city government of Davao to draft a code within the year that compiles existing environmental laws of the city.

Interface Development Interventions (Idis) policy advocacy specialist Mark Peñalver said during the Connect media forum Friday, January 11, that an attempt to draw up an environment code started in 2010. This was revived in 2016, but did not progress at the City Council.

"Karon kay daghan nata og ordinances and ang kulang nalang ana kay codification para dili na siya katag. It's a new ordinance pero coming from different environmental laws pud so dili siya lisod kaayo buhaton (We have a lot of ordinances now and the only thing we needed to do more is the codification. It will be a new ordinance but will be coming from the different environmental laws so it will not be that difficult to draft),” Peñalver said.

“Ang mangusog gyud ani is ang LGU gyud but naa ra man mi para mutabang sa ilaha kay dugay naman gyud ni (The LGU should push for this but we are just here to help since this concern existed for quite sometime),” he said, adding that their commitment is still to help and support the government for the protection of the environment.

He also said that with the environment code, it will be easier to monitor existing ordinance that needs amendments in the future.

This will also categorize ordinances in relation to water, land, air and even sort out penalties and prohibited acts.

Meanwhile, committee on environment chair Councilor Diosdado Mahipus said in a text message to Sunstar Davao yesterday that the codification or environmental protection ordinances are still under discussion in his committee.

“I believe it’s going to take a little time for us to collate all significant laws but we will try to finish it before our term ends,” Mahipus said.

“It needs research work and updating since the ordinances are in the archives. It is more of compilation,” he said, adding that the environment code was not pushed in the Council since the past committee chair failed to do it.